CapitaRetail China Trust, which owns 10 malls in China, has recorded a 4.3 per cent fall in its distribution per unit (DPU) for the three months ended Dec 31 last year compared with the same period a year ago.

The Singapore-listed trust will pay 2.2 cents per unit for the fourth quarter, down from 2.3 cents the previous year.

But distributable income rose 5.6 per cent in the quarter from a year ago to $17.7 million.

Revenue was up 8.9 per cent in the period to $41.2 million, while net property income increased 6.6 per cent to $25.8 million.

The trust said in a statement on Wednesday that revenue rose due to revenue growth at CapitaMall Xizhimen and CapitaMall Wangjing in Beijing as well as CapitaMall Saihan which is in Inner Mongolia.

That outweighed the lack of contribution from CapitaMall Minzhongleyuan in Wuhan, Hubei province, which has been closed for upgrading since July 2013.

Mr Tony Tan, chief executive of the trust's manager, said that the upgrading works for CapitaMall Minzhongleyuan were progressing well and the mall is on track to reopen for business in the second quarter of this year.

The trust has secured or is in "advanced negotiations" for leasing commitments accounting for over 70 per cent of the mall's net lettable area, he noted.

Mr Tan added that the acquisition of CapitaMall Grand Canyon in Beijing was completed on Dec 30 and that mall will start contributing income from this year.

The trust's total asset size was around $2.2 billion as at Dec 31.

Unitholders can expect to receive the fourth-quarter DPU and the third-quarter DPU of 2.13 cents - making up 4.33 cents per unit in total - together on March 27.

CapitaRetail China Trust units were two cents up at $1.315 at 10.10am.